Travel UNESCO-listed city Our tour continued to La Laguna, a 15-minute drive northwest of Santa Cruz. The 520-year-old Spanish city retains the layout of its original streets. In 1999, UNESCO declared La Laguna aWorld Heritage Site. The non-fortified colonial city encompasses more than 600 well-preserved buildings from the 16th to 19th centuries. We noticed students walking past the blue, green and yellow buildings. “La Laguna University is the oldest in the Canary Islands,” said Natalia. “It was founded in 1742 and has 30,000 students.” La Laguna’s buildings have beautiful architectural details, including wrought iron gates and antique hand-shaped door knockers. Walking through a massive wooden door, we entered Casa Alvarado Bracamonte. Inside the 17th-century building, a tiled cloister surrounded a pretty courtyard, adorned with palms and a stone fountain. Another fountain, camellias and orange trees embellished the courtyard of the Instituto de Canarias. A massive dragon tree guarded its wooden doors below an imposing bell and clock tower. As we continued our walk, Natalia explained that 100 Dominican nuns used to live in the Convent of St. Catherine of Siena. “Today, only four remain.”The sisters used to view activity on the streets below from a Canary pine balcony. We noted that they are now part of the street life, as we watched a nun walk her small dog along La Laguna’s historic streets. Back onHarmony V, we cruised overnight to Lanzarote. In 1993, UNESCOmade the entire island aWorld Biosphere Reserve. Forty-one per cent of Lanzarote is protected. Desolate moonscape After our ship docked, we joined a Variety Cruises tour that made it easy to imagine what Lanzarote looked like 300 years ago after 700 volcanoes erupted, covering more than one-third of the island with lava. In a small bus, we drove along the Volcano Route past craters and tortured swirls of black-and-ochre lava. Our guide Angel pointed out small lichens and a large hornito that looked like a big rock on one side. The other side was a large cavity through which gases and lava escaped. The Valley of Tranquility resembled a desert, with wind-blown ripples of ochre lava pellets instead of sand. Three centuries ago, a volcano spit out jagged black lava bombs that remain today. At El Diablo restaurant, cooks grilled meat over heat emanating from a black lava rock pit. “The volcanoes are still dormant,” said Angel. “The heat comes from trapped lava bubbles.” Timanfaya National Park rangers demonstrated the geothermal energy of the residual heat. One placed a handful of ochre lava pellets into our outstretched palms. They were so hot that we could only hold them for a few seconds. Another ranger dropped dried bushes into a pit. Within seconds, they burst into flame. A third ranger poured water into a fissure. Super-heated steam rocketed out as a geyser three times his height. The circular glass-walled restaurant blends perfectly with the lunar landscape. It was designed by César Manrique (1919-1992). Lanzarote’s visionary artist and architect promoted harmony between architecture and nature. Instituto de Canarias in La Laguna Wrought iron gate to courtyard Ochre and black landscape on Volcano Route, Lanzarote Nun walks dog in La Laguna Handful of hot ochre lava pellets in Timanfaya National Park, Lanzarote. 22 | www.snowbirds.org
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